| Summary: | The thesis consists of empirical analysis of the labour supply behaviour of married and single females in Egypt, using data from the 1984 LFS, 1980 EFS and 1976 Census. A utility maximisation approach, in which leisure time and consumption goods represent the choice faced by individuals, is used to determine work behaviour. The nature of the labour force participation decision is examined and a model is presented based on the comparison of the market wage and own wage functions. Finally, the time-allocation model, which incorporates non-working time, is presented and other household decisions, such as the determination of family size are brought into the sphere of analysis. The results obtained using aggregated data indicate that educational attainment and family size and composition are the major determinants of labour supply. Wage and income elasticities are small. And, overall, a higher unemployment rate creates a discouraged-worker effect for married females and an added-worker effect for single females. Similar results are obtained using individual data for Cairo, though there exists a discouraged-worker effect for all marital status groups and the income level is found to exert a positive effect contrary to theoretical expectation. The use of a framework where household decisions are Jointly determined is tested using two simultaneous-equation models. One of the conclusions reached is that mothers with higher wage and educational levels are in occupations least compatible to child-rearing and so have lower fertility levels. The results also indicate that completed rather than current fertility levels is a better determinant of the decision of a female to work.
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